The ultimate guide to content marketing and sales strategy for B2B

CREATING CONTENT. CLOSING DEALS.

The ultimate guide to content marketing and sales strategy for B2B // 619.330.0730 // www.bopdesign.com

Content marketing is an ideal companion to a B2B sales team. Why? Two reasons:1. The B2B sales process’ inherent nature (a longer sales cycle, smaller

potential client pool, higher priced purchases and multiple decision

makers) requires multiple touch points with a prospective client.

2. The traditional B2B “sales funnel” is evolving from a predictable

linear model to a much more diverse and jumbled path—requiring

marketers to consistently remind prospective clients of a B2B brand

through relevant, new content on an infinite number of platforms.

So if you’re not already modifying your content to fit a buyer’s

needs in each stage, it’s time to get started! In this guide we’ll

address common obstacles in the B2B sales process, how content

can solve them and how to measure your outcomes.

The ultimate guide to content marketing and sales strategy for B2B // 619.330.0730 // www.bopdesign.com

DiscoveryAttracting web visitors and transforming them into

qualified prospects is the first step in a B2B sales

process. These customers are conducting a web

search, gathering preliminary information and sourcing

referrals from trusted sources. Most importantly, they’re

trying to find a business they can trust, meaning helpful

content that addresses their need will nurture the

relationship much more than pushy, fluffy sales talk.

How content helps during discovery:

• Begins building the relationship with a sales person

• Positions the business as a trusted source

• Better educates (and qualifies) a prospect

Obstacles During Discovery

DoubtWhen beginning their preliminary searching, it’s

common for a prospect to approach your sales

team with skepticism. Doubt stems from a variety of

circumstances, such as confusion with your service

delivery or perhaps a poor experience with your type of

business in the past. Content can help mitigate doubt by

establishing credibility and initial trust with the prospect.

Content marketing that defeats doubt can include:

• Third party validation of your firm (e.g. thought

leader endorsements, positive media coverage)

• Social media clout

• Third party articles about your industry, process, etc.

• Portfolio

• Industry client list

• Client testimonials

Price and BudgetB2B services are often high priced ticket items.

Think of software, engineering, medical, and

consulting services. All typically involve relatively

high prices and long-term contracts—as well as

little industry transparency—compared to B2C.

Meaning there will be prospective clients with

unrealistic budgets and sticker shock. Instead of

immediately disqualifying, content can help re-

evaluate price requirements, build your firm’s value

and set the prospect back into the sales funnel.

Content that can address price concerns include:

• Tip lists

• Service delivery breakdown

• Introductory videos

Client EducationDepending on your industry, prospective clients

may have never heard of your service or business.

A sales person should be well equipped with

content that educates a prospective client.

This allows a sales person to alert prospective

clients of new challenges and realized problems

that originally weren’t considered.

Content for client education can be:

• Free white paper and state of the industry reports

• Checklists

• eBooks

The ultimate guide to content marketing and sales strategy for B2B // 619.330.0730 // www.bopdesign.com

ConsiderationDuring the consideration phase, a qualified lead

recognizes your business as a potential suitor and

understands your unique value proposition. They’re

most likely comparing you to competitors and have a

clearer picture of their project needs. Recycling the same

content from the discovery phase is a bad idea. These

qualified leads want to engage with a B2B firm and in

return receive personalized answers and attention.

Content helps the consideration phase by:

• Outlining your unique value proposition

vs. your competition

• Deeper education about your specific

services and need for tailoring

• Prospect can picture future success

with your partnership

Obstacles During Consideration

IndecisionAt this point a prospect is closer to making their decision,

but will start prolonging the sales process. This could

be for a variety of reasons, the prospect may have other

higher priority projects/needs, they’re awaiting team

feedback or there is still lingering doubt and questions

from the discovery phase. While discovery content casts

the widest net, the consideration content should mitigate

the risk of losing any that have stayed for the ride.

Content to aid indecision includes:

• Webinars

• Demo videos

• Service delivery guides

• Newsletters

DisorganizationSometimes in a business your prospective client is

stretched very thin in available time and resources.

Additionally, depending on your target industry, a

prospect may need buy-in from senior leadership

and may not have the time or required skill to sell

your firm internally. Your content should succinctly

describe your service within the confines of their

needs—saving your prospect the time and energy

when they discuss internally. Most importantly,

your content should make your prospect’s job

easier when trying to gain internal buy-in.

Content that improves disorganization can be:

• Competition comparison

• Analysis reports

• White papers

• Webinars

The ultimate guide to content marketing and sales strategy for B2B // 619.330.0730 // www.bopdesign.com

DecisionFinally, a percentage of prospects from the discovery

stage have made it to the decision stage. Remember that

even if a lead is ready to buy, you should build a case of

credibility through content before moving to a proposal.

Content supports the decision stage by:

• Instilling trust and credibility

• Closing the sale

Obstacles During Decision

Multiple Decision MakersAs stated before, many times your primary point of

contact isn’t the only person making the decision to buy

from you. Senior level colleagues also weight in. This is

a great opportunity to gain brand recognition and trust

deeper within the company, but you also risk failing

to drive consensus. One naysayer in the group can

derail the whole project, so it’s best to have content on

hand that can quickly absolve any negative thoughts.

Content that brings the group together includes:

• Process tips and sheets

• Before & after stories

• Competitor comparison sheet

• Phone calls with teams

• Special demos

• Team bios

Misalignment of GoalsIt’s easy to assume that by the time a prospect

reaches the decision phase their objectives are

thoroughly understood and mapped out within the

service agreement. But sometimes perceptions

change since the initial sales discussion and

new needs present themselves. This could mean

miscommunication on the client end, internal

changes within the company or industry changes.

Content to address last minute goal setting are:

• Service agreements

• Personalized slideshows

• Case studies

Client InexperienceSimilar to client education in the discovery phase,

sometimes your point of contact is inexperienced

with your service delivery. An inexperienced

client may not be involved in the actual delivery

of the service, but still has to communicate

your business and benefits to their team.

Content that helps client inexperience includes:

• Guides geared toward the sphere of influence

• Pricing information

Buyer’s RemorseA sales person’s initial goal is land a sale, but turning

a client into a long-term advocate sweetens the

deal. Money spent now, and the results of that, have

great impact on that prospect’s job review, internal

recognition and future budget. So it’s important

content drills home your business as a critical partner.

Content that relieves buyer’s remorse:

• Ongoing educational webinars

• Podcast interviews

• Newsletters

• In-person events and speaker opportunities

The ultimate guide to content marketing and sales strategy for B2B // 619.330.0730 // www.bopdesign.com

Need more information on how content marketing supports the B2B sales process? For more insight into content marketing and sales strategy, visit the Bop Blog.

MeasurementSo you have your buyer personas and your content

strategy in hand, but wondering if the content is actually

helping reach sales and marketing objectives? No need

to fear, here are four simple metrics (two for sales, two

for marketing) that you should really be measuring.

Marketing: Web AnalyticsThe bulk of your content will be digital and hosted

on your website. This means using Google Analytics

or a similar tool helps in measuring content

engagement. Here are some metrics to pull:

• Time spent on site (greater time spent on your

website = a more interested customer)

• Pages per session (more pages browsed in

one visit = a more educated customer)

Marketing: Social MediaIf your business is involved on social media, then

discover what content is receiving the most shares

and clicks on those platforms. These metrics

shouldn’t be observed in a vacuum, as there is a

lot of data showing that social shares don’t always

equal high readership. Instead, pull the following:

• Referral traffic (based on platform)

combined with the web analytics

Sales: Leads GeneratedThis requires some big picture thinking and wrangling

of multiple platforms. If you’re a B2B business that

still conducts most sales over the phone, it becomes

even more complicated. But, as stated above, if your

content is digital the measurement becomes easier.

If you have important calls to action on your website

that you want an individual to make—such as

signing up for a newsletter, downloading a guide

or completing a contact form—then track these

conversions by setting up Google Analytics Goals.

Sales: Length of Sales CycleA B2B sales cycle can often take weeks—or even

months—to close. Keep the lines of communication

open with your sales team and provide them with

relevant content along the way. To help, ask your

sales team some of the following questions:

• Is the content attracting the wrong type of

prospect (e.g. seeking different services,

needs additional education, etc.)?

• Are there common misconceptions of our business

among prospects (e.g. understanding of unique

value proposition, service delivery or other)?

• What common questions are prospects

asking that you need support answering?